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Congress Needs to Repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" This Year

1LT Daniel W. Choi - New York Army National Guard2010-03-04

Courage Campaign - 3-4-2010 I need your help right now. I need you to pick up the phone and make a quick call to Sen. Bob Casey.

Yesterday, Sen. Joe Lieberman made history, introducing legislation to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" -- the first bill ever introduced in the U.S. Senate to end this discriminatory policy. Sen. Carl Levin, the powerful Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Sen. Arlen Specter joined Sen. Lieberman in introducing this landmark legislation.

Sen. Lieberman's "Military Readiness Enhancement Act of 2010" closely mirrors a similar bill in the House of Representatives, championed by Rep. Patrick Murphy, that would repeal the law that prevents gay Americans from serving openly in the military.

Now we need to help Sen. Lieberman and Sen. Levin get the votes in the Senate that will repeal DADT once and for all.

My job -- my life -- is on the line. And so are the lives of more than 65,000 gay men and women currently serving in our nation's military. That's why I need your help. And it's why the Courage Campaign is teaming up with the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network and Knights Out to get this message to you.

It's very important that we act today -- thousands of us across America. Can you make a quick call right now urging Sen. Casey to join Sen. Specter in co-sponsoring the Lieberman/Levin bill? It will take just a minute of your time, but your call will mean the world to me and so many of my fellow soldiers:

Make no mistake: Congress needs to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" this year -- before the November elections. Right now, we're fighting on two fronts to repeal DADT in 2010:

1) Include repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in the defense budget authorization bill, or

2) Pass the "Military Readiness Enhancement Act of 2010" in the Senate and House of Representatives

With the Lieberman/Levin landmark legislation introduced yesterday, the most important thing you can do right now is help us build momentum behind it. The more senators who sign on as co-sponsors, the more likely we can repeal DADT in 2010 -- on one front or the other.

Can you make a quick call urging Sen. Casey to join Sen. Specter and sign on as a co-sponsor to Sen. Lieberman's new bill? Click here to get the phone number and check out our really short script, if you need it:

A few weeks ago, I joined Sen. Gillibrand and more than 900 people who signed up for a "Courage Campaign Conversation" conference call to discuss the repeal of DADT. If you would like to listen to this special hour-long discussion, just click here: